


sand and salt

by Tomohisa



Series: the art of flying [2]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Gen, M/M, Underwater, Wingfic, Wings, breath of air, can fics even have a beach episode?, it's the beach episode, there's not really any flying in this one, this one does, underwater kissing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-15
Updated: 2015-12-15
Packaged: 2018-05-03 21:15:31
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,415
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5307116
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tomohisa/pseuds/Tomohisa
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Hey, Kageyama, have you ever thought about swimming?"</p><p>"Don't be stupid, dumbass. Crows can't swim."</p><p>"But what if we <i>could</i>? Has anyone even <i>tried</i>?"</p><p>"Well, I <i>guess</i> there is a <i>slight</i> possibility that -"</p><p>"We should try it!"</p>
            </blockquote>





	sand and salt

**Author's Note:**

> This drabble kind of came out of nowhere. I wasn't really expecting to continue my wingfic AU - at least not for a while - but I felt _so_ compelled to write this after watching [this video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eJSik6ejkr0) ~~even though I'd already watched it so many times~~.
> 
> I'm not even sure if this should count as a wingfic, because there's no _actual_ flying.
> 
> It's kind of like, the beach episode of this AU? If such a thing can exist for fics.
> 
> Thank you to everyone for the lovely comments on _wings above waves_. I hope you enjoy this one too! ~~Even if it is really short and random.~~ Please let me know if you find any errors!

"Hey, Kageyama, have you ever thought about swimming?" Hinata sounded so earnest Tobio almost didn't consider the stupidity of his question. He looked down to where Hinata lay with his head on his lap, and rapped the red Crow's head lightly with his knuckles.

"Don't be stupid, dumbass. Crows can't swim."

Hinata stopped rubbing his forehead to gaze up at him, frowning softly. "But what if we  _could_? Has anyone even  _tried_?"

He sounded so hopeful that Tobio didn't want to dissuade him too much. "Well, I  _guess_ there is a  _slight_  possibility that -"

Hinata was jumping up, chestnut feathers fluttering everywhere before Tobio was even aware. "We should try it!"

Tobio couldn't help but admire the way the soft morning sunlight fluttered through Hinata's feather tips. They had both ended up on the beach today, at a small inlet slightly closer to home than their usual Flight Spot. There was sand between Tobio's toes, but he found he didn't care. He had been happy to just sit with Hinata and think about nothing except the patterns they would make in the sky together.

He stood up carefully, brushing stray patches of sand from his clothes and the ends of his dark feathers. He stretched out his wings to shake off the rest, and Hinata stepped around and behind him to help. Tobio closed his eyes to fully appreciate the sensation of another Crow grooming his wings for him. The chestnut Crow was not very experienced and had a tendency to pull on feathers that  _should not be pulled on_ , but Tobio could forgive him. He improved every time, and it had been so long since someone had preened his feathers voluntarily.

"Wow, Kageyama! You have sand between feathers I didn't even know _existed_." Hinata sounded delighted.

Tobio made his voice as flat as possible. "Oh, haha." He snapped his wings shut, ignoring the other Crow's protests, and turned to face him. "Well, maybe if you hadn't  _pushed_  me into the  _sand_  when we landed, I would be a little cleaner."

Hinata's grin was anything but apologetic. "You make such a comfy pillow though!"

"Yeah, well my wings don't agree with you." Tobio flicked Hinata on the forehead. He had managed to pull himself up into a sitting position after the aforementioned pushing, but his wings had still been dusted with far too much sand for his liking.

The red Crow was practically buzzing on the spot. His wings twitching, feathers flying all over the place. "Are you coming then?" Hinata started to pull off his shirt - no easy feat when you had six limbs - and Tobio watched confusedly until understanding set in.

"Wait, Hinata - are you sure that this is a good idea?" Why was he even asking at this point? Hinata was nothing but bad ideas. He caught a glimpse of stomach muscles and listened to the smaller Crow's muffled chirping before he finally acceded and helped untangle him from his shirt. Then he was left with a shirtless Hinata.

The sight didn't bother him, but it gave him a clenched feeling in his stomach that he wasn't sure what to make of, so he turned to pull his own shirt off as Hinata started flexing his wings in preparation.

When his shirt was almost covering his face, a pair of cool hands touched his back just below his shoulders, and he shivered. Hinata helped pull one wing free and then the other, smoothing out any ruffled feathers as he went. His hands lingered on Tobio's wings, stroking at the longest feathers, but he stepped back before Tobio could question it.

Tobio turned to face Hinata, but the chestnut Crow was already leaping away through the sand. He knew Tobio would chase him.

Looking down at his shorts, Tobio resigned himself to ruining them and ran after Hinata, who was already knee-deep in the water, his own shorts bunching up awkwardly in the waves. His excitement was contagious though, and Tobio found himself smiling as he waded through the low surf after him. When the water reached his stomach he had to bite back a gasp, and, of course, Hinata took that as an invitation to soak him.

Tobio squawked indignantly,  _definitely_  gasping with cold this time because the water was  _freezing_ , and Hinata made an awkward sort of half-attempt at flight towards him. He ended up dunking Tobio's head under the water, and he taller Crow wrapping his arms around Hinata's waist automatically and dragged him down with him. The water wasn't deep, so they surfaced at the same time, gasping for breath.

The chestnut Crow was settled on Tobio's waist, and he could feel that his orange wings were a bit heavier than normal. Tobio shuffled his own wings curiously, and found they were the same. Even heavy rain or a thorough shower didn't normally have so much of an effect on their weight. This was unfamiliar territory for Crows. They weren't meant to swim. To Tobio, the thought was kind of unnerving.

Hinata, on the other hand, didn't even seem to notice. He wrapped his arms around Tobio's neck, laughing, and tapped foreheads. "That was so much fun, Kageyama! Let's try going underneath the water again!"

Despite the cold water, Tobio felt flushed. He released Hinata's waist and pushed the wet hair back from the red Crow's forehead. "Maybe if you'd get off me, we could move into deeper water." He pulled his wings as high above the water as he could, and they fluttered irritably. 

Hinata was all smiles and laughter. He stood up, which, admittedly, still left him much lower in the water than Tobio when he joined him on his feet. Tobio grinned down at him wickedly, and Hinata pushed him over again in retaliation before wading out further.

* * *

Under the water was even better than Shouyou had thought it would be. He couldn't hear a thing, and the immense pressure the water put on his wings and ears was a little terrifying, but satisfyingly different to flying. Experimentally, he tried twisting in the water using them, but it was a lot harder than in the air. A challenge.

He'd somehow managed to turn round so he was facing back towards Kageyama again, and watched with envy as the larger Crow glided so much more smoothly through the depths. It was almost like he was flying, stretching out his wings to their full length, then drawing them back in tight to propel himself forwards. Kageyama wasn't  _overly_  graceful in the water - but as far as swimming Crows went, Shouyou was sure that his flight partner would be one of the best.

Shouyou tried to mimic Kageyama's flowing wing movements, but just ended up twisting upside-down in the water and disorientating himself. It seemed that when he was surrounded by water, his usual wing movements just wouldn't suffice. He was just starting to flail with panic when a large hand pulling on his wrist righted him, and yanked him up to the surface.

They were both gasping in air like they never had before, and Shouyou found himself inadvertently hanging on to Kageyama's shoulders whilst he caught his breath. Maybe this hadn't been such a good idea. Shouyou was used to feeling light as the feathers on his back and making good use of that. The additional weight of sodden feathers was something he just couldn't get used to.

"Hey, are you all right?" Kageyama sounded concerned, and wrapped a supporting arm around Shouyou's waist. Gentle movements of his dark wings kept them floating in place. "If this is too hard for you, we can always go ba-"

"No!" Shouyou suddenly found his voice between gasps. That was the last thing he wanted. "I'll get it, I- I just need to practise!" He felt himself shiver so violently his feathers almost stood on end.

He risked a glance at Kageyama's face, and saw that the larger Crow was beginning to look doubtful. It didn't suit him. Shouyou pushed back from him and took a deep breath before diving again.

Frustrated, Shouyou tried to spin through the water like he would on a fast dive through a cloud, but he just couldn't get the hang of it. His movements were too slow and clumsy.

Kageyama seemed to appear from nowhere, and drew a startled breath out of Shouyou. Panicking, he tried to move towards the surface again, but Kageyama just grabbed his cheeks and brought their mouths together.

Some part of Shouyou felt like he should be embarrassed, but he was so greedy for air he just reciprocated the gesture and held Kageyama's face in place. When he pulled back, no longer feeling quite so out of his depth -  _literally_  - he noticed that Kageyama had a strange look on his face. Before he could make sense of it though, the other Crow was already shooting up towards the surface, clearly out of air himself. He swam upwards with smooth flaps of his wings and quickly dove back down again in the same movement.

Shouyou was awkwardly floating in place when he returned. It didn't feel quite right staying under the water for so long, and the salt was beginning to sting at his eyes. His wings were starting to feel really,  _really_  cold as well. Kageyama, however, didn't seem to be so affected. He was grabbing Shouyou's hands and pulling him along as though he didn't really have any say in the matter. Which, with his lack of coordination, he really didn't.

The larger Crow dragged Shouyou along a small distance whilst they were facing each other, face scrunched up with concentration. Just as Shouyou was beginning to appreciate the expression though, Kageyama awkwardly manoeuvred round him so that he could drag the smaller Crow along by hooking his arms under Shouyou's shoulders.

They drifted through the water like that for a while, and Shouyou supposed it was kind of nice. The lack of air was making things slightly awkward though, and he was starting to feel a familiar burn in his chest. He started wiggling in Kageyama's grip and allowed his wings to spasmodically twitch out to the sides a few times until the dark-haired Crow got the message.

He slowed to a stop in the water, and Shouyou twisted round as best he could so that they were face to face again. They were only a short distance below the surface now, but that didn't matter. Shouyou wanted to try that thing again.

Using one of Kageyama's shoulders as an anchoring point, Shouyou pushed himself up towards his face and used the back of Kageyama's neck to gently pull him down at the same time. He closed his eyes when their lips made contact, but not before seeing the surprised expression on Kageyama's face. He eased their mouths open, and Kageyama complied so that he could draw in a small breath of air. Kageyama's dark hair felt softer than usual under the water, and allowed himself a moment to appreciate that before pulling back.

They were left staring at each other, and the curious expression on Kageyama's face made Shouyou's stomach bubble with an emotion he wasn't entirely sure of. He started to flail his way towards the surface awkwardly, but it was only a few seconds before Kageyama took pity on him grabbed one of his arms to drag him up.

* * *

It wasn't very easy dragging Hinata back to shore. He felt like a deadweight on Tobio's back, not aided at all by how tightly he was clinging to his neck.

"That was pretty fun, Kageyama!" Hinata chirped - more like  _screeched_  - right next to his ear. He made no move to help Tobio wade through the water. "We should try swimming again sometime! I think I almost had it by the end."

Tobio could almost picture Hinata's expression even without seeing his face. Bright and sunny and full of hope despite it being absolutely  _freezing_  in this water. Tobio couldn't even feel the very tips of his toes anymore. He felt a shiver go right to his wingtips and tried to move faster through the water.

"Yeah, yeah. We'll come back and I'll 'have fun' dragging your soggy, feathered ass through the water again." He rolled his eyes. "Y'know, for such a tiny Crow you sure are heavy when your wings are soaked."

Hinata's grip tightened on his neck. "Just admit it, Yamayama, you had  _fuuun_." The orange Crow dragged out the last word, leaning over to press a cold cheek to Tobio's own.

Tobio felt a blush start to creep up his neck, only just being suppressed by the cold of the water. "Well. I mean. It was ok I guess." He stumbled over the words and hated himself for it. Almost. He was too distracted by the warm weight of Hinata humming contentedly against his back.

The smaller Crow clung tightly to his back, even after Tobio stumbled back onto the dry sand of the beach. They both ended up shivering violently despite the heat of the sun against their wings. That was when Tobio decided to shake him off, because he  _really_  needed to dry off his feathers or he was going to freeze.

Hinata tumbled to the ground with a cheery smile and scrambled off to find his shirt. Tobio himself still felt a little shaky on his legs, like he'd forgotten how to walk properly on a solid surface. He stretched out his dark wings to their full wingspan and back a few times to shake off some of the excess water. It didn't really help. The water had gotten past his outer feathers and through to some of his down, which was making his wings feel slow and heavy.

He was still shaking out his wings when Hinata waddled back over, grinning fiercely as he passed Tobio his shirt as well. Tobio coughed into his hand to cover up his laugh. Hinata’s orange hair was stuck up in all directions, like he'd hit a tree mid-flight – but Tobio thought it was more likely that he'd just tried to dry it off with his shirt.

Hinata started trying to reach back awkwardly to rub the material against the feathers of his chestnut wings, until Tobio huffed and pulled the shirt from his hands. He dropped his own to the ground and turned Hinata around so that he could wipe his feathers more easily. The small Crow twittered contentedly under the attention.

**Author's Note:**

> Headcanon that kissing isn't really a thing for Crows because they have other ways of expressing affection. So Hinata genuinely had no idea what was going on other than 'oh, this is new, I like this, let's do that again!'
> 
> My wingfics always feel so self-indulgent, and I took a lot of artistic license with this one. For actual birds, most water naturally runs off their feathers and doesn't normally permeate to the softer down (especially waterfowl, which produce an oil that aids in this). Few (non-waterfowl) birds actively swim in water though (apart from [this cutie](http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/bird_dipper)), so I'm guessing spending a lot of time moving about in water would eventually allow it to seep through.
> 
> I also like to think that Hinata and Kageyama have quite strong lungs and wing muscles from flying so often at such high altitudes, which would help with swimming (somewhat). Still, it's not easy for them.
> 
> Let me know if you liked this one!


End file.
